Resources related to Biology

Effects of off-bottom shellfish aquaculture on winter habitat use by molluscivorous sea ducks.

Žydelis, R., D. Esler, M. Kirk, and W. S. Boyd. 2009. Effects of off-bottom shellfish aquaculture on winter habitat use by molluscivorous sea ducks. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 19:34-42.

The interaction between off bottom suspended Oyster farming and wintering seaducks.

Migration and Habitat Use of Pacific Barrow's Goldeneye

Connectivity among annual cycle stages, rates of site fidelity, and the geographic scale of dispersal are largely unknown for Pacific Barrow’s Goldeneye (BAGO). This precludes managers and researchers from identifying demographically discrete units for population management, and for understanding the scale of inference from field studies. Further, habitats and specific sites that may be particularly important for BAGO are difficult to identify, as this species is not well covered by surveys for most of its annual cycle and range.

Sea Duck Research at the Centre for Wildlife Ecology

The Centre for Wildlife Ecology has several studies underway that address conservation issues affecting sea ducks along the Pacific coast. The issues, species, and populations being studied are shared concerns of the Centre for Wildlife Ecology, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and agency and academic collaborators throughout North America.

The effect of body condition on subsequent creche attendance in Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima)

Creches are groups containing any number of adult female(s) and duckling(s), two or more of which are parentally unrelated. Several authors have suggested that the body condition of ducks is a determining factor in parental care and that females in poor condition more readily abandon their young. In 1997 and 1998, 285 adult female Common Eiders breeding on Green Island were captured and nasal tagged. Our objective was to examine the relationship between adult female condition, using multiple measures of body size, and subsequent membership in creche.

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